The U.S. will reportedly send Ukraine the most advanced weapons system that it has supplied to the Eastern European country through its first three months of war with Russia.
Democrat President Joe Biden made the announcement in an op-ed published in The New York Times on Tuesday afternoon, saying that the U.S. will provide advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine “that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
“The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that the U.S. is sending is a mobile rocket launcher that can strike targets from 40 to over 300 miles away, depending on the type of rocket it is outfitted with,” Politico reported. “The rockets that the administration has decided to send are on the shorter end, reaching up to 48 miles.”
However, a senior administration official later said that the weapons system was only promised to Ukraine after the U.S. received “direct assurances” from Ukraine’s leaders that it would not be used to strike targets inside Russia.
“While there are limitations placed on their range, the HIMARS is a vastly more modern weapons system than anything the Ukrainians, or the Russians, can currently put on the battlefield,” Politico added. “The vehicle-mounted launchers can fire volleys of six guided rockets at a time that land within several feet of their intended target, an accuracy unmatched in the artillery duels taking place across the Donbas in Eastern Ukraine. The vehicle carrying the launchers can also travel at more than 50 miles per hour.”
The new weapons system that the U.S. is sending Ukraine comes after the administration sent them 90 155 mm M777 towed howitzers.
“You’re already seeing the Ukrainians being willing to go on the counteroffensive in the Donbas [region of Ukraine]. They are taking back some towns that the Russians have taken in the past,” a senior Defense Department official said. “We do believe that the howitzers … are having an impact, particularly in Kharkiv. Now is that the only reason? I don’t think we would go that far to say that, but we do believe that the systems they’re getting — not just the U.S. systems but the systems from other countries — are absolutely helping them regain some momentum and to take back some territory.”
The New York Times reported that the American-made M777 howitzers “are the most powerful and destructive of the many types now being provided by NATO countries” to Ukraine.
“They fire three miles farther than the most common artillery system used by the Russian army in the Ukraine war, the Msta-S self-propelled howitzer — and 10 miles farther if shooting a precision, GPS-guided projectile,” the report said. “Since their deployment two weeks ago, the dozen or so howitzers operating in two artillery batteries had by Sunday fired 1,876 rounds.”